I’m Molly Mahoney, a performer and Facebook Live ninja that loves to teach business owners how they can build their audience and boost their profits using live video! I have a new favorite social media technique (you may have heard about it), Facebook Messenger Bots, and today I want to share a case study on my experience using ManyChat to help me reach over a million people… organically!

Here’s the actual video:

The numbers on the surface look great, but when I first saw the numbers on the backside of this video, I have to admit…

my mind was blown.

I’ve never had a post receive this much “organic reach.”

I saw the stats on my phone and thought… WHAT!? So, I quickly sent a screenshot to my assistant, ran to my computer to check there, and then continued to check every day for a few days. I had been implementing a new messenger bot strategy that had been working well, but this was way more organic reach than usual.

Here is a summary of the official stats:

Organic Reach: 1,059,727

Video Views: 38,982

Reactions, Comments & Shares: 2,371

Comments: 1,139

Shares: 63

And… here’s two screenshots so you can see for yourself.

This is the reach of all of my posts from the beginning of July.

Here’s details on this specific video.

I knew it had better reach than most, because we surpassed 200 live viewers for the first time ever.

224 to be exact!

I also knew it had been successful because I welcomed in several new students who opted in for more info during this video… YAY.

But, while reach is not always a number I track or follow, the final organic reach of over 1 million people is what really blew my mind.

There is a clear system that I used to create this audience size and I can’t wait to share it with you.

I used two tools, BeLive.TV and ManyChat, to make it happen.

In this post I’ll take you through each of the 7 steps I took to create massive organic reach for my Facebook Live Video.

Use these steps to create massive reach and engagement for your own next Facebook Live Video!

Let’s dive in…

7-Steps to Deploy Molly Mahoney’s ManyChat & Facebook Live Strategy

1. Set Clear Business Foundations

If you don’t have these pieces in place, it’s going to be hard for this strategy with messenger bots to work for you.

And, honestly, hard for you in business in general, so skim this part if you already know this… or dig in and answer these questions for yourself.

(Even if you think you know this, it may be time for a refresher.)

Who are you as a person and as a brand?

Who do you serve?

What is the number one business objective behind your video? (This is often sales based or lead generation based.)

What is the INTENTION behind your video? (This is often more emotionally based, or the true value you are offering in the video… even if no one actually purchases or opts in to your offer.)

This is where the magic happens… so take a deep breath, and read this post, if you are afraid of bots taking away from the “human-ness” of your connections.

Register for a ManyChat account and connect it to your Facebook Business page. Even with the free version, you’ll have the ability to connect any Facebook post to a Growth Tool that will automatically respond to a specific trigger word comment.

Create the Facebook Comment Growth Tool that automatically responds to their comment with a message.

In the message, ask your audience for confirmation that they want access to the training. The best way to do this is to ask them to reply with a specific word if they really want access. (This is required in order to have your audience “subscribe” to your account. It works like a double opt-in.)

Create a Keyword Autoresponder that sends them a message with a link to the upcoming pre-scheduled Facebook Live Broadcast and let’s them know that you will send them a reminder right before you “go live.”

Be sure to tag them in ManyChat with a label that lets you know they want to be reminded.

5. Create a Targeted Facebook Ad With Your Post

Before I tell you what I did here, let me explain why this is so cool.

You are NOT allowed to boost a Facebook Live broadcast before it goes live or even while it is live. I think this is because Facebook wants a chance to review the video content and check for music and other potentially illegal content.

However, you are allowed to boost a Facebook post that offers access to the link via a Messenger Bot. This is a seriously awesome workaround that allows you to promote your live video content before it’s live.

When I did mine, I only spent a total of $100. I more than made that back in sales, and I welcomed loads of new connections!

Create an “engagement ad” on Facebook.

Select an audience that will be interested in the “free training” you’ll be delivering via Facebook Live.

Limit the delivery of the Facebook ad to only the newsfeed. The goal is to get people to comment on the post, so if it’s in the sidebar or on Instagram, it won’t work.

Here’s some of the details from my ad.

As you can see, I spent about $96 and I only allowed the ad to be seen in the Facebook Newsfeed.

Here’s the insights on this post. I love that you can see the organic and the paid reach. My goal is usually to keep the organic reach greater than the paid, and this one just barely made it.

6. Send a Broadcast Via Messenger to Your ManyChat Subscriber Base With a Link to The Video

Before you go live, use ManyChat to send a broadcast to those who asked to be notified.

I actually sent mine to my entire list of 2,733 people.

Don’t be a sales-y or pushy! Give them options!

I always give my list the option to join live, get the replay, or pass on the invitation. This has drastically reduced my unsubscribe rate.

7. Go Live!

Yahoo! Magic! Enjoy all of the viewers!

While live, remember, you now have viewers who are eager to hear what you have to say! They are ready to share and I think this played a big part in why the reach and engagement was so great.

Ready to try my strategy for yourself? Give it a go and post in the comments below how it went for you!

Molly Mahoney is a Camera Confidence Coach, Author, and FbLive Ninja! After graduating from Chapman University with a BFA in Theater and Dance, she toured the world working professionally as a performer for more than 10 years. She now uses all that she learned building her performance career in NYC, on Cruise Ships, Regional Theaters and in Las Vegas in order to help her students and clients unlock their inner awesome and elevate it so they can share their goodness with clarity, confidence, and (most importantly) joy.

Great suggestion Molly. We have been using a modification of this strategy and boosting the live video after we are live. I am going to try setting up an engagement post to get subscribers that want to learn about the topic that I am discussing and to increase the attendance of the live video. 🙂 Thank you

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